This is certainly true of Yellowstone, as the Dutton family engages in all kinds of questionable behavior in order to maintain their ranch and lifestyle. It’s also the case for a number of hit TV series that follow characters who engage in illicit activities. There’s a reason the best crime shows are so popular: people want to know what leads characters to make such choices.

Sometimes, that leaves viewers rooting for characters who really don’t deserve it. Just look at the widespread response to Breaking Bad‘s Walter White, and you’ll see there’s an appeal to following a character as they stray further and further from the law — and from their initial morals.

And some shows support entire casts who engage in criminal activities, making it more surprising when they don’t all wind up in prison. Although we can make excuses for some characters in dire straits, others should clearly be held accountable for their actions. This is especially true for shows where most characters are both legally and morally corrupt.

5Yellowstone
2018-2024
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Yellowstone
ScreenRant logo
7/10

Release Date2018 – 2024

NetworkParamount Network

Cast
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Headshot Of Kevin Costner In The Premiere Of Horizon: An American Saga
Kevin Costner

John Dutton

Headshot Of Luke Grimes
Luke Grimes

Kayce Dutton

This is part of what makes Yellowstone so gripping, and the Duttons’ manipulation skills extend beyond their family. They use their connections and scheming talents to get away with far more than they should, sometimes to the point where it’s unbelievable they don’t see more consequences.

There are just too many deaths and crimes that lead back to the Duttons, making their continued freedom throughout the show a head-scratcher.

There are just too many deaths and crimes that lead back to the Duttons, making their continued freedom throughout the show a head-scratcher. Sure, John Dutton gets a different sort of comeuppance in Yellowstone season 5, and Beth is arrested in the finale. But given that Beth and Rip are getting their own spinoff, we can assume her punishment is short-lived.

4Breaking Bad
2008-2013
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Breaking Bad
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10/10

Release Date2008 – 2013-00-00

NetworkAMC

Cast
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Bryan Profile Picture
Bryan Cranston

Walter White

Aaron Paul Profile Picture
Aaron Paul

Jesse Pinkman

Breaking Bad sees its main character getting into the meth-making business after being diagnosed with cancer, so it’s no surprise that most of the characters we meet are doing something illegal. Most of Walt’s allies and enemies are tied to the drug trade, even the ones we like. Surprisingly, none of them end up in prison at the end of Breaking Bad.

Blended image of Skyler White (Anna Gunn) in Breaking Bad, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) in El Camino, and Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) in Better all Saul
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Of course, most Breaking Bad characters meet more sinister ends, losing their lives to their questionable choices rather than winding up behind bars. This might be considered more believable given the nature of their trade, but it’s still surprising how few of them are held legally accountable for everything that happens in the show.

The one character that does face life in prison doesn’t receive that sentence until the end of Better Call Saul. And a couple of major players get off fairly easily, all things considered, with Jesse Pinkman changing his identity and fleeing to Alaska in El Camino and Walter ensuring that Skyler isn’t suspected of her role in his crimes.

There are a few characters, like Walt Jr. and Hank, who probably didn’t deserve a prison sentence when all was said and done. But even supporting characters like Marie did their share of questionable activities over the course of the show, driving home that nearly everyone in Breaking Bad was legally iffy.

3Succession
2018-2023
One of Succession‘s biggest storylines sees the Roy family worrying over who will go to prison for the family’s crimes, but nothing ever comes of this — which feels like an honest assessment of how wealthy criminals are handled in the real world. In reality, most of Succession‘s main characters break the law in some significant way.

Imagery from Succession season 1 E4
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The business practices of Waystar Royco are pretty shady, and it’s clear that the show’s leads don’t offer much in the way of oversight. Tom and Greg destroying the evidence of this should certainly have landed them in a cell. However, they wind up among the better off characters at the end of Succession instead.

There’s also the matter of the Roys interfering with an election, one of the worst things they do throughout the HBO series. None of the Roys have much of a moral compass, and they’re all willing to do anything — legal or not — to ensure their status, comfort, and ability to climb the ladder. This is why pretty much every character should have wound up in prison in the last season.

2Ozark
2017-2022
Ozark Poster
Ozark
Release Date2017 – 2022-00-00

ShowrunnerBill Dubuque

Cast
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Julia Garner

Cast Placeholder Image
Katrina Lenk

Ultimately, the Byrde family gets away with everything they’ve done, despite Marty and Wendy breaking the law frequently.

But the fact that most of the characters who face accountability do so through murder is telling; only a couple of Ozark‘s supporting players actually serve time for their crimes. The rest either wind up dead or walk away without consequences. Ultimately, the Byrde family gets away with everything they’ve done, despite Marty and Wendy breaking the law frequently.

And the Byrdes don’t just break the law in small ways; they’re wrapped up in some pretty heinous crimes, including murder, which makes their freedom at the end even grimmer. Their kids are probably too young to receive real prison sentences, but even they do dubious things that further their family’s illegal enterprise. All in all, most of Ozark‘s characters deserved lengthy sentences.

1Your Honor
Your Honor TV Show Poster
Your Honor
Release Date2020 – 2023-00-00

Cast
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Bryan Profile Picture
Bryan Cranston

Headshot Of Hope Davis
Hope Davis

Big Mo and the Desire street gang commit enough crimes to earn them prison sentences as well, but they’re also easier to root for than the Baxter family or even Charlie Figaro. Still, when it comes down to it, every character in Your Honor is corrupt and questionable in some way.

Bryan Cranston as Walter White smiling in Breaking Bad and a TV as the background
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The gangs and crime families break the law more openly than others, which makes it more shocking that none of them wind up in jail alongside Michael Desiato. But even the crooked cops and politicians should be in cells as Your Honor concludes. There are only a couple of characters who don’t deserve that outcome, like Detective Nancy Costello and Elizabeth.

Of course, the reality that several important characters don’t face consequences for their actions leaves the door open for Your Honor season 3. While it’s not clear if that will ever happen, this could be the thought process behind leaving people like the Baxters with their freedom.

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